The XLA Factor

Putting the ‘X’ back into XLAs

The concept of "Experience Level Agreements" (XLAs) has become increasingly prevalent in recent times as a method to assess the quality of IT service delivery and its impact on end-user experience.

Unlike SLAs, which focus largely on quantitative metrics, XLAs are essentially outcome-focused, designed to directly address the quality of an experience, rather than predefined metrics that may not reflect the actual experience of end-users.

However, XLAs can be a difficult concept to grasp, both for suppliers and customers used to working within the context of more traditional SLA agreements that provide a measurement framework for technology-led transformation. XLAs challenge teams to think differently about technology and to shift the emphasis away from tools and platforms, rather how they are used to enable and deliver better experiences. When defining an XLA strategy, teams can quickly become fixated on binary metrics, leaving them detached from the user and how a service is delivered and experienced in the context of everyday tasks and processes.

Customer and employee experience is significantly subject to context

Only when we truly understand, and ideally observe, how an experience is delivered across multiple touch points, can we put in place the appropriate tools and metrics to understand, measure, and ultimately improve it. Teams must invest the time and effort to understand users, and conduct thorough analysis, using both quantitative and qualitative methods, to fully understand process journeys, pain points, and the moments that really matter to users.

When defining an XLA strategy the first step is to define clear outcomes

What is it you want to achieve? What metrics are available, or can be put in place to effectively measure the experience? How could we better support and enable our end user community? Every organisation will have different aims and will be at a different point along the experience measurement journey. Nonetheless, there are common themes that can be applied, at least as a framework around which to build out more organisation-specific requirements, based on business-specific tasks, processes or journeys that require monitoring, measurement and improvement.

• Users should be able to work anytime/anywhere with the right level of service availability, performance and functionality
• Users benefit from significant enhancement in functionality driven by more rapid enablement and adoption of technology
• New users receive a positive first impression of the organisation as a result of an onboarding process that gets them online, and productive, quickly
• Users have a positive impression as a result of any interaction with the IT support function.

Defining an effective and sustainable XLA strategy can be a complex and multi-dimensional process, requiring focus and alignment from a wide range of business stakeholders. Adhering to the right process, similar to that outlined below, will help ensure stakeholder alignment and collaboration, define priorities and set expectations.

01. Understand stakeholder needs: Identify key stakeholders involved in the XLA strategy, including customers, employees, and leadership, and understand their needs, expectations, and pain points related to the service

02. Define XLA objectives: Clearly define the objectives of the XLA strategy, including specific goals related to customer satisfaction, employee experience, and business outcomes

03. Identify critical moments: Identify critical moments in the service journey that have a significant impact on the overall experience, both from the customer and employee perspectives

04. Establish metrics and KPIs: Define key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to measure the success of the XLA strategy, ensuring alignment with business objectives and stakeholder needs

05. Develop XLA framework: Develop a framework for measuring and managing XLAs, including defining service level expectations, performance thresholds, and escalation procedures

06. Implement feedback mechanisms: Implement feedback mechanisms such as surveys, interviews, and customer feedback channels to continuously gather insights and assess XLA performance

07. Collaborate across teams: Foster collaboration across different teams and departments involved in delivering the service to ensure alignment and coordination in implementing the XLA strategy

08. Train and empower employees: Provide training and resources to frontline employees to enable them to deliver exceptional service experiences and contribute to achieving XLA objectives

09. Continuous improvement: Establish processes for continuous improvement, including regular review and analysis of XLA performance data, and iterative design refinement of products and services based on insights and feedback

10. Monitor and review: Regularly monitor XLA performance against established metrics and KPIs, review progress towards objectives, and adjust as needed to ensure ongoing success and alignment with organisational goals.

Putting in place an XLA strategy is just the beginning

Business environments are constantly evolving, requiring organisations to adapt their experience measurement strategies to meet the changing needs and expectations of users. Ensuring their sustainability and relevance over time can present a significant challenge.

Whilst defining and implementing a structured XLA strategy can deliver a step change in the evaluation and measurement of end user services, they only highlight the issues that need to be addressed. Ultimately, XLAs should drive continuous experience improvement - not just the analysis of feedback, but also acting on it.